Selvage for knitted fabrics



Patented July 13, 1943 PATENT OFFICE SELVAGE FOR KNITTED FABRICS William Smith, In, Pawtncket, It. I., assignor to Hemphill Company, Central Falls, 8.. 1., a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 14, 19:9, Serial No. 219,139

4 Claims. ((186-172) .ance of the fabric when the elastic yarn has contracted after the fabric has been released from the needles of a machine; and

Fig. 4 is a conventional showing of a stocking in which the invention might be employed.

The use of elastic yarn in hosiery tops for the purpose of simulating a. rib appearance and imparting to the top that elasticity necessary for purposes of a garter has become more or less common. In the tops a selvage is preferably made by the incorporation of the elastic yarn in accord- 2 ance with various special methods ofknitting. In this case the selvage has elastic yarn incorporated therein in such a manner that the edge is to appear flat and also in such a way as to impart to the edge an appearance of bulk or strength.

Referring to the figures of drawing and esp cially to Fig.1, an elastic yarn l is fixed to be fed at a feeding station of a. knitting machine such as a hosiery machine of conventional-type, that yarn being taken by alternate needles but not knitted. This elastic yarn may be'taken for a plurality of courses such as three courses or p05- sibly more. The main purpose-is that said yarn be taken a siifilcient number of times to load the needles so that the initial course at the selvage will have therein a relatively great amount of elastic thereby to have an appearance of bulk and strength. After alternate needles have thus been loaded up a sufllcient number of times, a non-elastic yarn 2 is taken by all needles. This non-elastic yarn knits through the previously held loops of elastic, but since that elastic was not drawn through any other yarn, it will merely contract upon being released and will straighten out to pass through all sinker loops of this initial course of non-elastic yarn. In Fig. 3 the.

, yarn l is thus shown straightened out and passing through or being threaded through sinker loops of that initial course of non-elastic yarn 2." flhereafter a second course of non-elastic yarn is knitted on all needles. but it is to be unthough at this point in the fabric several courses of non-elastic yarn might be knitted.

At that point the elastic yarn may be reinserted to knit on alternate needles such as those needles knitting wales 3, 5, I and 9 while at a next following course a non-elastic yam which may or may not be the same non-elastic yam will be knitted at all wales, wales 3, i, I, 9 and also the intermediate wales l, 8 and 8. This is in accordance with incorporation of elastic in St. Pierre Patent #2,131,'120. l However, after knitting the selvage as above described, the remaining parts of the elastic top may be knitted in any desired manner such as incorporation of the elastic by knitting at spaced wales along with a non-elastic yarn or instead of knitting, layin in the elastic yarn in a manner known tothose skilled in the art. The elastic yarn may be incorporated in all courses or in spaced courses.

The elastic is preferably knitted under tension, but a light tension such as described in St. Pierre Patent #2,l31,720. The elastic under such ten-' sion will contract especially in the initial courses where it was not drawn through any previously drawn knitted stitches. In the following courses it tends to retain that shape which it has assumed upon being drawn, that is, tends to remain in the form of'knitted stitches at all wales in which it is actually knitted. or course. those knitted stitches of elastic do contract to an extent and are much smaller than the stitches of nonelastic yarn.

Preferably the knitting of these fabrics is to be accomplished on a, machine having two feeds, one at which. the non-elastic yarn is fed and another at which the elastic yarn is to be fed. There is to be needle dividing mechanism at the elastic yarn feed so that alternate needles spaced 7 in any desired manner may be raised to take that elastic arn to the exclusion of those which are not to take it. Admitting cam is of course provided to draw the independently knitted elastic stitches prior to knitting at that feed or station where the regular or non-elastic yarn or yarns are fed. At that feeding station means is to be provided whereby the front stitch cam may be withdrawn or for withdrawing the entire cam 'derstood that this course is not necessary, al- 55.

blockso that while loading up the needles with elastic, it may be prevented from knitting oil at that feed, a thing likely to happen even though no yam was being fed at the said non-elastic yarn feed at that time. Such mechanlsmis available on machines such as Banner hosiery machines and requires no further description in this case.

Referring to Fig. 2 a somewhat similar method forknitting an elastic top is shown in which elastic yarn I is taken as in the first form of the invention described and is merely held or loaded within the hooks of alternate needles, those knitting in wales i0, i2, II and I8. elastic yam 2 is taken by all needles and is drawn into knitted stitches, being drawn through. or

about the temporarily held stitches of the elastic i. Then the elastic yarn l is again taken by those needles knitting in wales l0, l2, I4 and II but is not knitted through the previously drawn stitches of non-elastic yarn; it is merely taken in addition to those stitches and is thus tucked along with the said non-elastic yarn in those alternate wales. Thereafter the yarn 2 i again taken and is immediately knitted by all needles. That is, the yarn is drawn at wales l0, l2, II and it through tuck loops of plain or non-elastic yarn and elastic yam.- At the intermediate wales ii, I: and [5 it is merely drawn through previously drawn stitches of the yarn 2. From this point the'remainder of the fabric such as a stocking top may continue to be knitted as described with respect to the continuing fabric described relatively to that form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. What has been said previously with respect to tension and with respect to feeding at separate stations in the machine applies here. To accomplish the tucking which follows knitting the initial course of non-elastic yarn, the needles knitting in Wales In, i2,v I4, it, etc.

must fail to clear their latches upon approaching the elastic yarn feed. That is easily accomplished by not raising those needles to so great a height whereupon the elastic yarn may be taken, but merely in addition to the previously drawn non- Then a nonelastic yarn 2 rather than knitting through that I yarn. In Fig. 4 a stocking.is shown-having a top generally indicated at I! in which the edge knitted in accordance with either form of the invention is conventionally shown at l8. Thereafter any desired form of hosiery may be knitted having,

for example, a leg ll, foot 2. with heel 2| and ter top, said elastic yarn being incorporated at a selvage'by passing a relatively great number of courses of said yarn through sinker loops of the first knitted course of non-elastic material,

said elastic yarn then being tucked at alternate wales of the fabric and with non-elastic yarn stitches thereby to present a non-curling edge to the fabric.

2. A method of knitting an elastic fabric and a selvage at the'beginning edg thereof including the steps of forminga plurality of courses of elastic yarn in such a manner as to pass each course through sinker loops of an initial course of stitches drawn from a non-elastic yarn, then tucking the elastic yarn at alternate wales with the said non-elastic yarn and thereafter knitting the non-elastic yarn in each wale of the fabric so that stitches will be drawn through previously drawn non-elastic stitches and through tuck stitches comprising a loop of nonelastic and a loop of elastic material.

3. A circular, seamless knitted stocking top having elastic yam incorporated therein at spaced wales and in a suflicient number of courses that a relatively great number of courses of the elastic yarn are threaded into each sinker wale of said initial course of non-elastic yarn and each of these course of elastic yarn lies parallel to the other so that they are all threaded through the said sinker loops in the same direction, said elastic yarn then being tucked-with non-elastic yarn stitches at alternate wales of the fabric thereby to present a non-curling edge to the fabric.

4. A method of knitting a selvage at the beginning edge of a circular, seamless knitted stocking top including the step of drawing a plurality of courses of elastic yarn so that at each said course a loop of said elastic yarn will temporarily be formed at what are to be alternate needle wales in the said top, then drawing a course of nonelastic yarn by forming needle loops of said yarn, one at each mile of the fabric, and a sinker loop between each said needle loop and drawing said course or non-elastic yarn while simultaneously casting oi! all the previously drawn courses of elastic yarn so that they will be held by the course of non-elastic yarn in such a manner that each ofthem is threaded through all the sinker loops of the said initial course, each strand lying parallel to the next and all being threaded through the sinker loops in the ame direction.

WILLIAM L. SMITH, J R. 

